Sometimes a game comes out and it just doesn’t grab you, and that is what is going on with Dying Light The Beast for me. The game looks competently made and all, but it just doesn’t have the special little features Dying Light 1 possesses which makes that game so special to me personally!
Techland seem to have improved upon Dying Light 2, having realised that maybe broadening their scope from a fun zombie slasher with light RPG mechanics, to one of those “wide as an ocean and supposedly deep as one” games was a mistake. From what I have seen the combat is nicer, the open world looks inviting and the zombie action seems to be a little bit scary again, which is very welcome!
But then there is this problem… You see, the zombies don’t really react in the way I would like them to if kicked, stabbed or shoved. The Ragdolls are so loose and unrestrained, which is such a shame as the first game had the zombies limbs be constrained by their joints and seeming inner biology. They would react to falling off buildings by curling up or flailing around as they scream in their embarrassing descent, with the impact on the pavement acting like a kind of punchline to a joke. From the footage I have seen in Dying Light The Beast, the zombies heads just turn off the second they take a step off the roof. A Shame really.
TBC…